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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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Civil Ac°^Ia a
z.NEW JERSEY CARPENTERS HEALTH FUND,On Behalf of Itself and All Others SimilarlySituated,
Plaintiff,
vs.
LEHMAN XS TRUST SERIES 2005-5N, LEHMANXS TRUST SERIES 2005-7N, LEHMAN XS TRUSTSERIES 2005-9N, LEHMAN XS TRUST SERIES2006-2N, LEHMAN XS TRUST SERIES 2006-16N,STRUCTURED ASSET SECURITIESCORPORATION, MARK L. ZUSY, SAMIR TABET,JAMES J. SULLIVAN AND LEHMAN BROTHERS,INC.,
Defendants.
Removed from:
Supreme Court of the State of
New York, County ofNew York
No. 602158/08
NOTICE OF REMOVAL
x
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§1441 and 1446, defendants Lehman Brothers Inc. and
Structured Asset Securities Corporation ("Removing Defendants") hereby remove the above-
captioned civil action, and all claims and causes of action therein, from the Supreme Court of the
State ofNew York, County ofNew York to the United States District Court for the Southern
District ofNew York.' This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332,
as amended by the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, and the claims may be removed to this
Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1453.
As grounds for removal, Removing Defendants state as follows:
By removing this matter, Removing Defendants do not waive, and expressly preserve,
any and all defenses that they may have including, but not limited to, lack of personal
jurisdiction and service of process.
I
1. On or about July 23, 2008, plaintiff New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund filed this
putative class action in the Supreme Court of the State ofNew York, County ofNew York, on
behalf of all purchasers of certain Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (the "Certificates"). This
case was assigned an index number of 602158108. The complaint was received by Removing
Defendants on July 24, 2008.
2. The complaint alleges, among other things, that certain registration statements and
prospectuses filed in connection with the Certificates contained misstatements and omissions in
violation of Sections 11, 12(a)(2) and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. §§ 77k,
771(a)(2) and 77o.
3. Pursuant to'28 U.S.C. § 1446(a) and (b), this Notice of Removal is being filed in
the United States District Court for the Southern District ofNew York within thirty days after
July 24, 2008 (the date that Removing Defendants received a copy of the summons and
complaint).
Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 ("CAFA")
4. Pursuant to CAFA, 28 U.S .C. §§ 1332(d)(2) and 1453, a putative "class action"
commenced after February 18, 2005 may be removed to the appropriate United States District
Court if. (a) the amount in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $5,000 , 000, exclusive of
interests and costs; and (b) any member of the putative class is a citizen of a state different from
any defendant . 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2)(A).
5. CAFA applies because the state court action was commenced on or about July 23,
2008, i.e., after the effective date of CAFA. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332, 1453.
6. The state court action is a "class action" within the meaning of CAFA because
Plaintiff seeks to represent a class of persons in a "civil action filed under" Article 9 of the New
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York Civil Practice Law and Rules, i.e., a "State statute or rule of judicial procedure authorizing
an action to be brought by 1 or more representative persons as a class action ." 28 U.S.C. §§
1332(d)(1)(B), 1453(a).
7. The state court action satisfies CAFA' s amount in controversy requirement.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(6), the amount in controversy in a putative class action is determined
by aggregating the amount at issue in the claims of all members of the putative class. Here, the
complaint alleges that Defendants made false and misleading statements in connection with the
issuance of several billions of dollars worth of Certificates , and alleges that the value of these
Certificates has declined by 61 %. See Complaint ¶¶ 1, 3. While Removing Defendants deny
that Plaintiff or any putative class member is entitled to recover any amount, or to any other
relief, these allegations suffice to show that the aggregate amount in controversy is more than
$5,000, 000, exclusive of interest and costs . 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2).
8. The state court action also satisfies CAFA' s diversity of citizenship requirement.
To establish diversity jurisdiction under CAFA, it is sufficient that any one member of the
putative class is a citizen of a state different from any one defendant . 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2)(A).
As stated in the Summons , New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund resides in Edison , New Jersey.
Defendant Lehman Brothers Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters located in New
York, New York. Defendant Structured Asset Securities Corporation is a Delaware corporation
with its principal office located in New York, New York.
9. No exceptions to CAFA's applicability are relevant here.
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N
Other Procedural Requirements
10. In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a), attached hereto as Exhibit A are file-
stamped copies of all process, pleadings and orders served upon Removing Defendants in the
state court action, namely the summons and complaint.
11. Removing Defendants will promptly serve a copy of the Notice of Removal on
Plaintiff' s counsel and file with the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State ofNew York,
County ofNew York, a Notice of Filing of Notice of Removal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1446(d).
12. This Notice of Removal is signed pursuant to Fed . R. Civ. P. 11. See 28 U.S.C. §
1446(a).
WHEREFORE, this action should proceed in the United States District Court for
the Southern District of New York, as an action properly removed thereto.
Dated: New York, New YorkJuly 29, 2008
By
d THACHER & BARTLETT LLP
L'o, Ir
Michael J. [email protected] C. [email protected] M. [email protected] Lexington AvenueNew York, N.Y. 10017-3954Telephone: (212) 455-2000Facsimile : 212-455-2502
Attorneys for Defendants Lehman Brothers Inc.and Structured Asset Securities Corporation
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To:
Daniel B . Rehns, Esq.Schoengold Sporn Laitman & Lometti, PC19 Fulton Street , Suite 406
New York, NY 10036
Attorneys for Plaintiff
EXHIBITA
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKCOUNTY OF NEW YORK
New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund, On Behalfof Itself and All Others Similarly Situated,
Plaintiff,
V.
X
Index No.
Lehman XS Trust Series 2005 -5N, Lehman XS SUMMONSTrust Series 2005-7N, Lehman XS Trust Series2005-9N, Lehman XS Trust Series 2006-2N,Lehman XS Trust Series 2006- 16N, Structured :Asset Securities Corporation, Mark L. Zusy,Samir Tabet, James J. Sullivan and LehmanBrothers, Inc., :
Defendants.11
To the above named Defendants:
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to serve upo Piaintiff's attorneys a
Verified Answer to the Verified Complaint in this action within twenty, (20),days after the
service of this summons , exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (36)L flays after service
is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York, In
case of your failure to answer , judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief
demanded in the complaint.
Dated : July 21, 2008
D elms, Esq.Schoengold Sporn Laitman & Lometti, PC
19 Fulton Street, Suite 406New York, New York 10036
Tel: (212) 964-0046Counselfor Plaintiffand
the Proposed Class
Trial is desired in the County ofNew York.
The basis of venue designated above is that Defendants maintain and/or conduct their business in
the County ofNew York.
r r
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKCOUNTY OF NEW YORK
XNew Jersey Carpenters Health Fund, On Behalf : 0860215 8of Itself andiAll Others Similarly Situated, Index No.
Plaintiff, CLASS ACTION
V. VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR
VIOLATION OF SECTIONS„ I I;-Lehman XS Trust Series 2005-5N, Lehman XS : 12 and 15 OF THE SECURITIESTrust Series 2005-7N, Lehman XS Trust Series ACT OF 19332005-9N, Lehman XS Trust Series 2006-2N,Lehman XS Trust Series 2006-16N, Structured 2GAsset Securities Corporation, Mark L. Zusy,Samir Tabet, James J. Sullivan and LehmanBrothers, Inc., :
Defendants.
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Plaintiff alleges the following based upon the investigation of counsel, Schoeng id Sporn
Laitman & Lometti, P.C., which included a review of United States Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC") filings by Structured Asset Securities Corporation ("SASC") and Lehman
XS Trust Series 2005-5N, Lehman XS Trust Series 2005-7N, Lehman XS Trust Series 2005-9N,
Lehman XS Trust Series 2006-2N, and Lehman XS Trust Series 2006-16N (collectively, the
"Issuers" or "LXST"), as well as regulatory filings and reports, and advisories about SASC and
LXST, and their own internal investigation. Plaintiff believes that substantial additional
evidentiary support will exist for the allegations set forth herein after reasonable opportunity for
discovery. The claims asserted herein do not sound in or arise from allegations of fraud.
P
NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. This is a class action brought by New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund (the
"Carpenters Health Fund") alleging violations of Sections 11, 12 and 15 of the Securities Act of
1933, 15 U.S.C. § 77a et seq. ("Securities Act"), on behalf of purchasers of Lehman XS Trust
Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2005-5N, Lehman XS Trust Mortgage Pass-Through
Certificates Series 2005-7N, Lehman XS Trust Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2005-
9N, Lehman XS Trust Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2006-2N, and Lehman. XS
Trust Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2006-16N (the "Certificates" or the "LXST
Certificates") who purchased the Certificates, backed by a pool of primarily conventional, first
lien, adjustable, fully amortizing-rate subprime second-lien residential mortgage -loans, pursuant
to or traceable to the $2,740,586,000.00 Offering of Series 2005-5N Mortgage Pass-Through
Certificates on or about October 28, 2005 issued by Defendant Lehman XS Trust, Series 2005-
5N (the "October 2005 Offering"), the $2,391,151,000.00 Offering of Series 2005-7N Mortgage
Pass-Through Certificates on or about November 29, 2005 issued by Defendant Lehman XS
Trust, Series 2005-7N (the "November 2005 Offering"), the $1,628,731,000,00 Offering of
Series 2005-9N Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates on or about December 29, 2005 issued by
Defendant Lehman XS Trust, Series 2005-9N (the "December 2005 Offering"), the
$2,131,095,000.00 Offering of Series 2006-2N Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates on or about
January 30, 2006 issued by Defendant Lehman XS Trust, Series 2006-2N (the "January 2006
Offering"), the $2,191,599,000.00 Offering of Series 2006-16N Mortgage Pass-Through
Certificates on or about September 28, 2006 issued by Defendant Lehman XS Trust, Series
2006-2N (the "September 2006 Offering") (collectively, the "Offerings" or the "LXST
Offerings").
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2. The Series 2005.5N, 2005-7N, 2005-9N and 2006-2N Certificates were issued
pursuant to a common Registration Statement filed with the Securities Exchange Commission
("SEC") on or about September 26, 2005 (the "September 2005 Registration Statement"). The
2006-16N Certificates were issued pursuant to a Form FWP Registration Statement filed with the
SEC on or about September 13, 2006 which relates back to the Registration Statement filed on or
about August 8, 2006 (the "August 2006 Registration Statement"). The Offerings also occurred
in this venue. The Certificates herein are Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates ("PTCs")
collateralized by mortgages originated by IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. ("IMB") and Countrywide
Home Loans, Inc. ("CHL" or "Countrywide"), both of which at all relevant times were
commercial and residential lenders. The mortgages and liens on the mortgaged properties
constituting the Certificates collateral were, as set forth in the Prospectuses, to be the principal
source by which Certificate purchasers were to obtain repayment of their investment plus
interest. As also set forth in the Registration Statements, the Certificate collateral was
purportedly originated by 1MB and CHL pursuant to specific underwriting procedures and
guidelines.
3. The Underwriter for the Offerings was Defendant Lehman Brothers, Inc. ("LB" or
the "Underwriter"). The Underwriter was obligated to conduct meaningful due diligence to
ensure that the Registration Statement contained no material misstatements and omissions
including as related to the stated manner in which the mortgages had been originated. The
Underwriter received massive fees for its work in connection with the Offerings. At the time of
the Offerings, the Certificates were issued at approximately par or $1000.00 per Certificate.
4. Following the issuance of the Certificates, disclosures began to emerge revealing
that IMB and CHL routinely disregarded the underwriting guidelines in originating mortgage
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collateral. These disclosures were confirmed by substantially higher rates of delinquencies and
foreclosures on collateral for such highly-rated debt issues. The revelations set forth below
regarding the true underwriting practices used to originate the collateral and the true value and
quality of the Certificate collateral caused the value of the Certificates to substantially collapse,
Plaintiff purchased Certificates at par for $125,781.25 at the time of the October 2005 Offerings,
but now, at the commencement of the action herein, they are valued at $48,629.56 - a 61%
percent decline in value. The claims asserted herein under the Securities Act do not sound in or
arise from allegations of fraud.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
5. The claims asserted herein arise under and pursuant to Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and
15 of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 77k, 771(a)(2) and 77o.
6. This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant to
Section 22 of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C, § 77v.
7. Venue is proper in this County pursuant to Section 22 of the Securities Act.
Many of the acts and transactions alleged herein, including the preparation and. dissemination of
many of the material misstatements and omissions contained in the Registration Statements
and Prospectuses filed in connection with the Offerings, occurred in substantial part in this
County. Additionally, the Certificates were actively marketed and sold in this County. In
addition, Defendants LXST, SASC and LB maintain offices in this County, and all
Defendants' have and continue to transact business in this county in connection with the
Offerings of the LXST Certificates.
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PARTIES
8. Plaintiff, the New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund, is a Taft-Hartley benefit fund
with offices located in Edison , New Jersey. The New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund purchased
$125,000. 00 face value of the Lehman XS Trust, Series 2005-5N, Class M2 Certificates at par
value on the .Offerings on or about October 3, 2005. Plaintiff and the Class purchased pursuant
to the Registration Statement and Prospectus- which contained material misstatements offact and
omitted facts necessary to make the facts stated therein not misleading . Plaintiff relied on the
misstatements in the Prospectus and has suffered damages pursuant to Sections 11 and 12 of the
Securities Act.
9. Defendant Lehman XS Trust, Series 2005-5N was the issuing entity for the
October 2005 Offering . Per its filings with the SEC, LXST 2005-5N has listed 745 Seventh
Avenue, New York, New York 10019 as its principal office location. Defendant LXST 2005-5N
is a trust formed under the laws of the State ofNew York.
10. Defendant Lehman XS Trust, Series 2005-7N was the issuing entity for the
November 2005 Offering. Per its filings with the SEC, LXST 2005-7N has listed 745 Seventh
Avenue, New York, New York 10019 as its principal office location . Defendant LXST 2005-7N
is a trust formed under the laws of the State ofNew York.
11. Defendant Lehman XS Trust, Series 2005-9N was the issuing entity for the
December 2005 Offering . Per its filings with the SEC, LXST 2005-9N has listed 745 Seventh
Avenue, New York, New York 10019 as its principal office location . Defendant LXST 2005-9N
is a trust formed under the laws of the State ofNew York.
12. Defendant Lehman XS Trust, Series 2006-2N was the issuing entity for the
January 2006 Offering . Per its filings with the SEC, LXST 2006-2N has listed 745 Seventh
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Avenue, New York, New York 10019 as its principal office location . Defendant LXST 2006-2N
is a trust formed under the laws of the State ofNew York.
13. Defendant Lehman XS Trust 2006-16N was the issuing entity for the September
2006 Offering. Per its filings with the SEC, LXST 2006-16N has listed 745 Seventh Avenue,
New York, New York 10019 as its principal office location . Defendant LXST 2006- 16N is a
trust formed under the laws of the State of New York.
14. Defendant Structured Asset Securities Corporation is the Depositor for the
Offerings, and the Parent Company of the Issuers. According to its SEC filings, SASC is a
Delaware special purpose corporation and maintains its principal offices located at 745 Seventh
Avenue, New York, New York 10019. The ultimate parent company of SASC is Lehman
Brothers Holdings, Inc.
15. Defendant Mark L. Zusy ("Zusy") was, at all relevant times , Chairman, President
and Managing Director of SASC. Zusy signed the September 2005 Registration Statement and
the August 2006 Registration Statement on behalf of himself and as Attorney-In-Fact.
16. Defendant Samir Tabat (`°Tabat") was, at all relevant times, a Managing Director
of SASC.
17. Defendant James J. Sullivan ("Sullivan") was, at all relevant times, a Director of
SASC.
18. Defendant Zusy, Tabat and Sullivan are collectively referred to herein as the
"Individual Defendants." The Individual Defendants, because of their positions with SASC,
possessed the power and authority to control the contents of SASC's submissions to the SEC
and the market, and participated in the drafting and editing of the Prospectuses. The individual
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Defendants all conducted business and had business residences at 745 Seventh Avenue, New
York, New York 10019.
19. The Individual Defendants were officers and/or directors of SASC at the time
the Registration Statements and Prospectuses for the offerings became effective, and with their
consent were identified as such in the Registration Statements. In addition, they signed the
Registration Statements or authorized it to be signed on their behalf.
20. The Individual Defendants , as officers and/or directors each had a duty to
promptly disseminate accurate and truthful information with respect to LXST and SASC, and to
correct any previously issued statements issued by, or on behal f of LXST and SASC that had
become materially misleading. The Individual Defendants ' misrepresentations and omissions in
the Prospectuses violated these specific requirements and obligations. The Individual
Defendants were signatories to the Registration Statement filed with the SEC and incorporated
by reference in the Prospectuses.
21. The Defendants are all liable, jointly and severally, as participants in the issuance
of the LXST Certificates, including issuing, causing, or making materially misleading statements
in the Prospectuses and omitting material facts necessary to make the statements -contained
therein not misleading.
22. Defendant Lehman Brothers, Inc., ("LB" or the "Underwriter") is an international
investment banking firm with its worldwide headquarters located in this County at 745 Seventh
Avenue, New York, New York 10019 . LB is a leading underwriter of a market-maker in
residential and commercial mortgage- and asset-backed securities and is active in. all areas of
secured lending, structured finance and securitized products . LB underwrites and makes markets
in the full range of U.S. agency-backed mortgage products, mortgage -backed securities, asset-
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backed securities and whole loan products.
23. Defendant LB served as the Underwriter and lead Manager and Book-Runner for
the Offerings. Defendant LB was intimately involved in the Offerings. Defendant Lehman
failed to perform the requisite level of due diligence in connection with the Offerings complained
of herein. The Prospectuses disseminated in connection with the Offerings contained material
misstatements and omissions of material fact relating to the "Underwriting Practices" employed
in originating the underlying subprime mortgage loans.
CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS
24. Plaintiff brings this action as a class action pursuant to Article 9 of the New York
Civil Practice Law and Rules ("CPLR") on behalf of a class consisting of all persons who
purchased or acquired the Certificates (the "Class") pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration
Statement and Prospectuses issued in connection with the Offerings from the effective date
through the date of the filing of this action. Excluded from the Class are Defendants, their
respective officers and directors at all relevant times, members of their immediate families and
their legal representatives, heirs, successors or assigns and any entity in which Defendants have
or had a controlling interest.
25. The members of the Class are so numerous that joinder of all members is
impracticable. While the exact number of Class members is presently unknown to Plaintiff and
can only be ascertained through appropriate discovery, Plaintiff reasonably believes that there
are thousands of members in the proposed Class. Record owners and other members of the Class
may be identified from records maintained by Defendants and/or the Trustee for the Certificates
and may be notified of the pendency of this action by mail, the internet or publication using the
form of notice similar to that customarily used in securities class actions.
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26, Plaintiffs claims are typical of the claims of the members of the Class as all
members of the Class are similarly affected by Defendants' wrongful conduct in violation of
statutory law complained of herein.
27. Plaintiff will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the members of the
Class and has retained Schoengold, Sporn, Laitman & Lometti, P.C., counsel competent and
experienced in class and securities litigation.
28. Common questions of law and fact exist as to all members of the Class and
predominate over any questions solely affecting individual members of the Class. Among the
questions of law and fact common to the Class are:
a) whether the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 were violated by the
Defendants as alleged herein;
b) whether the Registration Statements and Prospectuses contained
materially untrue statements or omitted statements of material fact; and
c) to what extent the members of the Class have sustained damages pursuant
to the statutory measure of damages.
29. A class action is superior to all other available methods for the fair and efficient
adjudication of this controversy since joinder of all members is impracticable. Furthermore, as
the damages suffered by individual Class members may be relatively small, the expense and
burden of individual litigation make it impossible for members of the Class to individually
redress the wrongs done to them. There will be no difficulty in the management of this action as
a class action.
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SUBSTANTIVE ALLEGATIONS
30. Currently, the United States is ensnared in a financial crisis arising, in material
part, from the greed which drove financial firms to issue billions of dollars of debt securities
"collateralized" or securitized with mortgages which only recently have been revealed to have
been recklessly underwritten and originated. The Plaintiff and Class as purchasers of the
Certificates have been the victims of just such negligent practices, having purchased the
Certificates pursuant to a Registration Statements which contained misstatements and omissions
concerning the mortgage collateral "securitizing" the Certificates, SASC and other entities
related to the Offerings, i.e., the Depositor and Underwriter Defendants, had enormous financial
incentive to consummate the Offering of the Certificates as quickly as possible since they were
paid upon completion a percentage of the total dollar amount of the Offering sold to investors.
Since the risk of the FTC's collateral failing was not assumed by LXST, SASC or the
Underwriters , they all had enormous incentive not to conduct full complete and meaningful due
diligence of the statements in the Registration Statement including those relating to the mortgage
collateral.
31. The structure of the Offerings was as follows: on or about September 26, 2005,
SASC filed a Registration Statement with the SEC in connection with the issuance of various
series and classes of debt securities which would be governed by said Registration Statement. At
some time prior to the Offerings, SASC formed several trusts under the laws of the State ofNew
York, the Lehman XS Trust 2005-5N, Lehman XS Trust 2005-7N, Lehman XS Trust 2005-9N
and Lehman XS Trust 2006-2N which then filed Prospectuses as the Issuing entity of the
Certificates at issue herein. Thereafter, on or about September 13, 2006, SASC filed a
Registration Statement with the SEC in connection with the issuance of the Lehman XS Trust
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Series 2006-16N Certificates. At some point prior to the consummating the Offering of the
2006-16N Certificates, SASC formed a trust under the Laws of the State of New York, Lehman
XS Trust 2006-16N, which then filed a Prospectus as the Issuer of the 2006-16N Certificates at
issue herein.
32. Typically, the loans are originated by the Sponsor, who then disposes of its loans
primarily by selling them to third parties and through securitizations. The Sponsor works with
the underwriters and the rating agencies to select the pool of mortgage loans and structure the
securitization transaction. The Sponsor also services the mortgage loans. On the closing date of
the Offerings, the Sponsor conveys the initial mortgage loans and the related mortgage insurance
policies to the Depositor, who will in turn convey the initial mortgage loans and the related
mortgage insurance policies to the Trustee. The Certificates are backed by the Issuer, and
consist of, inter alia, the mortgage loans; collections in respect of principal and interest of the
mortgage loans received; and the amounts on deposit in the collection account, including the
payment account in which amounts are deposited prior to payment to the certificate holders. On
the payment date, the certificate holders receive payments from the Trustee based on the
particular tranche purchased; typically, available funds for each distribution date will equal the
amount received by the trustee and available in the payment account on that distribution date,
including interest which differs depending upon the tranche held,
33. In connection with the LXST Offerings, SASC, LXST and LB prepared and
disseminated the Registration Statements and Prospectuses that contained material misstatements
of fact and omitted facts necessary to make the facts stated therein not misleading that were
reasonably relied upon by Plaintiff and the Class to their own detriment,
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The Registration Statements And ProspectusesContained Material Misstatements And Omissions of Fact
34. The Regi,tration Statements represented that all of the loans which made up the
pool of residential, subprime.mortgages used to support the Certificates were subject to certain
underwriting guidelines which assessed the borrower's creditworthiness , including multi-level
reviews of loan applications and appraisals with only "case by case" exceptions to guidelines.
35. The Registration Statements disclosed that the majority of the underlying loans
were originated by two entities for each Offerings - IMB (69.14%) and CHL (30. 16%) in the
case of the 2005-5N Certificates - and described the mortgage pool as follows:
Description of the Mortgage Pools
General
Except where otherwise specifically indicated, the discussion that follows and thestatistical information presented therein are derived solely from the characteristicsof the Mortgage loans as of the Cut-off Date. Whenever reference is made hereinto the characteristics of the Mortgage Loans or to a percentage of the MortgageLoans, unless otherwise specified, that reference is based on the Cut-off DateBalance.
The Trust Fund will consist of approximately 7,474 conventional, adjustable rate,fully amortizing, negative amortization Mortgage Loans, all of which haveoriginal terms to maturity from the first due date of the Scheduled Payment of 30years, having a Cut-off Date Balance (after giving effect to Scheduled Paymentsdue on such date) of approximately $2,757,128,955.71. Pool 2 will consist ofMortgage Loans with original principal balances which do net exceed theapplicable Freddie Mac maximum original loan amount limitations for one- tofour-family residential mortgaged properties. The Mortgage Loans generallyprovide for adjustment of the applicable Mortgage Rate, as specified in the relatedMortgage Note, based on the 1-Year MTA Index and for correspondingadjustments to the monthly payment amount due thereon, in each case asspecified in the related Mortgage Note and subject to the limitations describedbelow. The Mortgage Loans have Mortgage Rates that provide for adjustments tothe Mortgage Rates on a monthly basis (after the initial fixed rate period).
All of Mortgage Loans were originated by IndyMac or by Countrywide HomeLoans. IndyMac originated approximately 69.84% of the Mortgage Loans,including approximately 50.19% of the Pool 1 Mortgage Loans, all of the Pool 2
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Mortgage Loans and approximately 72.31% of the Pool 3 Mortgage Loans.Countrywide Home Loans originated approximately 30.16% of the MortgageLoans, including approximately 49.81% of the Pool I Mortgage Loans and27,69% of the Pool 3 Mortgage Loans. The Mortgage Loans were acquired by theSeller from the Originators, as described under "Underwriting Guidelines" and"Trust AgreementAssignment of Mortgage Loans" herein.
Approximately 0.61% of the Pool 1 Mortgage Loans, 0.19% of the Pool 2
Mortgage Loans and 0.69% of the Pool 3 Mortgage Loans were originated under"no documentation" programs or "no ratio documentation" programs, pursuantto which no information was obtained regarding borrowers' income or
employment and there was no verification of the borrowers' assets. Certain
documentation with respect to some Mortgage Loans, including in some cases,the related Mortgage Note, Mortgage or title insurance policy, is unavailable.
Except as otherwise noted below,- the Seller will make only limited
representations and warranties with respect to the Mortgage Loans. See "Trust
Agreement.Assignment of Mortgage Loans" herein.
All of the Mortgage Loans are adjustable rate, negative amortization mortgageloans , as described in more detail below. Interest on the Mortgage Loans accrueson the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months.
See LXST, Registration Statement & Prospectuses, October 28, 2005, at S-51; see also,November 29, 2005 at S-65; December 29, 2005 at 5-53; January 30, 2006 at S-58; September28, 2006 at S-57-58.
36. The statements in the preceding paragraph contained misstatements and material
omissions including in connection with the underwriting of the collateral mortgages. As set forth
below, a material portion of the underlying collateral for the LXST Certificates originated by
IMB and CHL were not in accordance with applicable credit, appraisal and underwriting
standards.
37. The Registration Statements represented, with respect to the collateral originated
by IMB, that all the underlying loans were subject to strict underwriting guidelines which
stressed homeowner credit-worthiness:
IndyMac Underwriting Guidelines
IndyMac originates the majority of its mortgage loans through brokers and
through its own retail operations; in both cases the mortgage loans are originated
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in IndyMac's name. IndyMac also originates mortgage loans throughcorrespondents (entities that originate mortgage loans to IndyMac'srequirements), IndyMac's operations today are an extension of the conduitprogram established by IndyMac, Inc. in April 1993 to purchase conventionalconforming and non-conforming mortgage loans on one- to four-familyresidential properties. IndyMac also acquires mortgage loans through bulkacquisitions in the secondary market. Conventional mortgage loans are loans thatare not insured by the FHA or partially guaranteed by the VA. Conformingmortgage loans are loans that qualify for sale to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,whereas non-conforming mortgage loans are loans that do not so qualify.IndyMac will originate and acquire mortgage loans secured by first or second .liens on the related mortgaged properties, including home equity lines of credit.
Non-conforming mortgage loans originated or purchased by IndyMac pursuant to.its underwriting programs typically differ from conforming loans primarily withrespect to loan-to-value ratios, borrower income, required documentation, interestrates, borrower occupancy of the mortgaged property and/or property types. Tothe extent that these programs reflect underwriting standards different from thoseof Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, the performance of loans madepursuant to these different underwriting standards may reflect higher delinquencyrates and/or credit losses.
IndyMac has two principal underwriting methods designed to be responsive to theneeds of its. mortgage loan customers: traditional underwriting and a-MITS(Electronic Mortgage Information and Transaction System) underwriting. In2003, it generated most of its mortgage loans through the e-MITS underwritingprocess. Through the traditional underwriting method, customers submit mortgageloans that are underwritten in accordance with IndyMac's guidelines prior topurchase. E-MITS is an automated, intemet-based underwriting and risk-basedpricing system. E-MITS generally enables IndyMac to estimate expected creditloss, interest rate risk and prepayment risk more objectively than traditionalunderwriting. Risk-based pricing is based on a number of borrower and loancharacteristics, including, among other loan variables, credit score, occupancy,documentation type, purpose, loan-to-value ratio and prepayment assumptionsbased on an analysis of interest rates.
IndyMac's underwriting standards for conventionally underwritten mortgageloans are based on traditional underwriting factors, including thecreditworthiness of the mortgagor, the capacity of the mortgagor to repay themortgage loan according to its terms, and the value of the related mortgagedproperty. Among other factors, IndyMac will consider such factors as loan-to-value ratios, debt-to-income ratio, FICO Credit Score, loan amount, and the extentto which IndyMac can verify the mortgagor's application and supportingdocumentation. These standards are applied in accordance with applicable federaland state laws and regulations. Exceptions to these underwriting standards are
14
permitted where compensating factors are present or in the context of negotiatedbulk purchases.
IndyMac currently operates two mortgage loan purchase programs as part of itsconduit operations:
1. Prior Approval Program, Under this program, IndyMac performs a fullcredit review and analysis of each mortgage loan to be purchased to ensurecompliance with its underwriting guidelines, Only after IndyMac issues anapproval notice to a loan originator is a mortgage loan eligible for purchasepursuant to this program.
2. Preferred Delegated Underwriting Program. Under this program, loan
originators that meet certain eligibility requirements are allowed to tender
mortgage loans for purchase without the need for IndyMac to verify mortgagor
information. The eligibility requirements for participation in the PreferredDelegated Underwriting Program vary based on the net worth of the loan
originators with more stringent requirements imposed on loan originators with a
lower net worth. Under the Preferred Delegated Underwriting Program, each
eligible loan originator is required to underwrite mortgage loans in compliance
with IndyMac's underwriting guidelines normally by use of e-MITS or,
infrequently, by submission of the mortgage loan to IndyMac for traditional
underwriting. A greater percentage of mortgage loans purchased pursuant to this
program are selected for post-purchase quality control review than for the other
program.
Under both programs, IndyMac permits the use of IndyMac-approved contractunderwriters.
For each mortgage loan with a Loan-to-Value Ratio at origination exceeding-80%,IndyMac will usually require a primary mortgage guarantee insurance policy thatconforms to the guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. After the date onwhich the Loan-to-Value Ratio of a mortgage loan is 80% or less, either becauseof principal payments on the mortgage loan or because of a new appraisal of themortgaged property, no primary mortgage guaranty insurance policy will berequired on that mortgage loan.
All of the insurers that have issued primary mortgage guaranty insurance policieswith respect to the mortgage loans meet Fannie Mae's or Freddie Mac's standardsor are' acceptable to the Rating Agencies. In some circumstances, however,IndyMac does not require primary mortgage guaranty insurance on mortgageloans with Loan-to-Value Ratios greater than 80%.
IndyMac purchases loans that have been originated under one of sevendocumentation programs : Full/Alternate, FastForward, Limited, Stated Income,No Ratio, No Income/No Asset and No Doc.
15
Under the Full/Alternate Documentation Program, the prospective borrower'semployment, income and assets are verified through. written or -telephoniccommunications. All loans may be submitted under the Full/AlternateDocumentation Program. The Full/Alternate Documentation Program alsoprovides for alternative methods of employment verification generally using W-2forms or pay stubs. Borrowers applying under the Full/Alternate DocumentationProgram may, based on certain credit and loan characteristics, qualify forIndyMac's FastForward. program and be entitled to income and assetdocumentation relief. Borrowers who qualify for FastForward must state theirincome, provide a signed Internal Revenue Service Form 4506 (authorizingIndyMac to obtain copies of their tax returns), and state. their assets; IndyMacdoes not require any verification of income or assets under this program.
The Limited Documentation Program is similar to the. Full/AlternateDocumentation Program except that borrowers are generally not required tosubmit copies of their tax returns and only must document income for one year(rather than two, as required by the Full/Alternate Documentation Program).
Under the Stated Income Documentation Program and the No Ratio Program,more emphasis is placed on the prospective borrower's credit score and on thevalue and adequacy of the mortgaged property as collateral and other assets of theprospective borrower than on income underwriting. The Stated IncomeDocumentation Program requires prospective borrowers to provide informationregarding their assets and income. Information regarding assets is verified throughwritten communications. Information regarding income is not verified. The NoRatio Program requires prospective borrowers to provide information regardingtheir assets, which is then verified through written communications. The No RatioProgram does not require prospective borrowers to provide information regardingtheir income. Employment is orally verified under both programs.
Under the No Income/No Asset Documentation Program and the No DocDocumentation Program, emphasis is placed on the credit score of the prospectiveborrower and on the value and adequacy of the mortgaged property as collateral,rather than on the income and the assets of the prospective borrower. Prospectiveborrowers are not required to provide information regarding their assets or incomeunder either program, although under the No Income/No Asset DocumentationProgram, employment is orally verified.
IndyMac generally will not re-verify income, assets, and employment formortgage loans it acquires from brokers or correspondents.
October 2005 Offering Prospectus at S-56-58; see also, generally, November 2005 OfferingProspectus at S-70-72; December 2005 Offering Prospectus at 5-57-59; January 2006 OfferingProspectus S-66-70; September 2006 Offering Prospectus at S-64-68.
16
38. The statements in the preceding paragraph contained misstatements and material
omissions including in connection with the underwriting of the collateral mortgages. As set forth
below, a materia portion of the underlying collateral for the LXST Certificates originated by
IMB were not in accordance with its credit, appraisal and underwriting standards.
39. Moreover, with respect to the loans originated by CHL, the Prospectuses stated as
follows:
Countrywide Underwriting Guidelines
The Mortgage Loans in the trust fund which have been originated or acquired byCountrywide Hone Loans will have been originated or acquired by CountrywideHome Loans in accordance with its credit, appraisal and underwriting standards,Countrywide Home Loans' underwriting standards are applied in accordance withapplicable federal and state laws and regulations.
As part of its evaluation of potential borrowers, Countrywide Home Loansgenerally requires a description of income. If required by its underwritingguidelines, Countrywide Home Loans obtains employment verification providingcurrent and historical income information and/or a telephonic employmentconfirmation. Such employment verification may be obtained, either throughanalysis of the prospective borrower's recent pay stub and/or W-2 forms for themost recent two years, relevant portions of the most recent two years' tax returns,or from the prospective borrower's employer, wherein the employer reports thelength of employment and current salary with that organization. Self-employedprospective borrowers generally are required to submit relevant portions of theirfederal tax returns for the past two years.
In assessing a prospective borrower's creditworthiness, Countrywide Home Loansmay use FICO Credit Scores. FICO Credit Scores are statistical credit scoresdesigned to assess a borrower's creditworthiness and likelihood to default on aconsumer obligation over a two-year period based on a borrower's credit history.FICO Credit Scores were not developed to predict the likelihood of default onmortgage loans and, accordingly, may not be indicative of the ability of aborrower to repay its Mortgage 'Loan. FICO Credit Scores range fromapproximately 250 to approximately 900, with higher scores indicating anindividual with a more favorable credit history compared to an individual with alower score. Under Countrywide Home Loans' underwriting guidelines,borrowers possessing higher FICO Credit Scores, which indicate a more favorablecredit history and who give Countrywide Home Loans the right to obtain the taxreturns they filed for the preceding two years, may be eligible for CountrywideHome Loans' processing program. Countrywide Home Loans may waive some
17
documentation requirements for mortgage loans originated under the PreferredProcessing Program.
Periodically the data used by Countrywide Home Loans to complete theunderwriting analysis may be obtained by a third party, particularly for mortgageloans originated through a loan correspondent or mortgage broker. In thoseinstances, the initial determination as to whether a mortgage loan complies withCountrywide Home Loans' underwriting guidelines may be made by anindependent company hired to perform underwriting services on behalf ofCountrywide Home Loans, the loan correspondent or mortgage broker. Inaddition, Countrywide Home Loans may acquire mortgage loans from approvedcorrespondent lenders under a program pursuant to which Countywide HomeLoans delegates to the correspondent the obligation to underwrite the mortgageloans to Countrywide Home Loans' standards. Under these circumstances, theunderwriting of a mortgage loan may not have been reviewed by CountrywideHome Loans before acquisition of the mortgage loan and the correspondentrepresents that Countrywide Home Loans' underwriting standards have been met.After purchasing mortgage loans under those circumstances, Countrywide HomeLoans conducts a quality control review of a sample of the mortgage loans. Thenumber of loans reviewed in the quality control process varies based on a varietyof factors, including Countrywide Home Loans' prior experience with thecorrespondent lender and the results of the quality control review process itself.
Countrywide Home Loans' underwriting standards are applied by or on behalf ofCountrywide Home Loans to evaluate the prospective borrower's credit standingand repayment ability and the value and adequacy of the mortgaged property ascollateral. Under those standards, a prospective borrower must generallydemonstrate that the ratio of the borrower's monthly housing expenses (includingprincipal and interest on the proposed mortgage loan and, as applicable, therelated monthly portion of property taxes, hazard insurance and mortgageinsurance) to the borrower's monthly gross income and the ratio of total monthlydebt to the monthly gross income (the "debt-to-income" ratios) are withinacceptable limits. If the prospective borrower has applied for an interest-only 6Month LIBOR Loan, the interest component of the monthly mortgage expense iscalculated based upon the initial interest rate plus 2%. If the prospective borrowerhas applied for a 3/1 Mortgage Loan and the Loan-to-Value Ratio is less than orequal to 75%, the interest component of the monthly mortgage expense iscalculated based on the initial loan interest rate; if the Loan-to-Value Ratioexceeds 75%, the interest component of the monthly mortgage. expensecalculation is based on the initial loan interest rate plus 2%. If the prospectiveborrower has applied for a 5/1 Mortgage Loan, a 7/1 Mortgage Loan or a 10/1Mortgage Loan, the interest component of the monthly mortgage expense iscalculated based on the initial loan interest rate. If the prospective borrower hasapplied for a negative amortization loan, the interest component of the monthlyhousing expense calculation is based upon the greater of 4.25% or the initialinterest rate on the mortgage loan. The maximum acceptable debt-to-income ratio,
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which is determined on a loan-by-loan basis, varies depending on a number ofunderwriting criteria, including the Loan-to-Value Ratio, loan purpose, loanamount and credit history of the borrower. In addition to meeting the debt-to-income ratio guidelines, each prospective borrower is required to have sufficientcash resources to pay the down payment and closing costs. Exceptions toCountrywide Home Loans' underwriting guidelines maybe made if compensatingfactors are demonstrated by a prospective borrower. Additionally, CountrywideHome Loans does permit its adjustable rate mortgage loans, hybrid adjustable ratemortgage loans and negative amortization mortgage loans to be assumed by apurchaser of the related mortgaged property, so long as the mortgage loan is in itsadjustable rate period and the related purchaser meets Countrywide Home Loans'underwriting standards that are then in effect.
Countrywide Home Loans may provide secondary financing to a borrowercontemporaneously with the origination of a mortgage loan, subject to thefollowing limitations: the Loan-to-Value Ratio of the senior (i.e., first) lien maynot exceed 80% and the combined Loan-to-Value Ratio may not exceed 100%.Countrywide Home Loans' underwriting guidelines do not prohibit or otherwiserestrict a borrower from obtaining secondary financing from lenders other thanCountrywide Home Loans, whether at origination of the mortgage loan orthereafter.
The nature of the information that a borrower is required to disclose and whetherthe information is verified depends, in part, on the documentation program used inthe origination process. In general under the Full Documentation Loan Program,each prospective borrower is required to complete an application which includesinformation with respect to the applicant's assets, liabilities, income, credithistory, employment history and other personal information. Self-employedindividuals are generally required to submit their two most recent federal incometax returns. Under the Full Documentation Program, the underwriter verifies the
information contained in the application relating to employment, income, assetsand mortgages.
A prospective borrower may be eligible for a loan approval process that limits oreliminates Countrywide Home Loans' standard disclosure or verificationrequirements or both.
Countrywide Home Loans offers the following documentation programs asalternatives to its Full Documentation Program: an Alternative DocumentationLoan Program, a Reduced Documentation Loan Program, a CLUES Plus
Documentation Loan Program, a No Income/No Asset Documentation LoanProgram, a Stated Income/Stated Asset Documentation Loan Program and aStreamlined Documentation Loan Program.
For all mortgage loans originated or acquired by Countrywide Home Loans,Countrywide Home Loans obtains a credit report relating to the applicant from a
19
credit reporting company. The credit report typically contains information relatingto such matters as credit history with local and national merchants and lenders,installment debt payments and any record of defaults, bankruptcy, dispossession,suits or judgments. All adverse information in the credit report is required to beexplained by the prospective borrower to the satisfaction of the lending officer.
Except with respect to mortgage loans originated pursuant to its StreamlinedDocumentation Program, Countrywide Home Loans obtains appraisals fromindependent appraisers or appraisal services for properties that are to securemortgage loans. The appraisers inspect and appraise the proposed mortgagedproperty and verify that the property is in acceptable condition. Following eachappraisal, the appraiser prepares a report which includes a market data analysisbased on recent sales of comparable homes in the area and, when deemedappropriate, a replacement cost analysis based on the current cost of constructinga similar home. All appraisals are required to conform to Fannie Mae or FreddieMac appraisal standards then in effect.
Countrywide Home Loans requires title insurance on all of its mortgage loanssecured by first liens on real property. Countrywide Home Loans also requiresthat fire and extended coverage casualty insurance be maintained on themortgaged property in an amount at least equal to the principal balance of therelated single-family mortgage loan or the replacement cost of the mortgagedproperty, whichever is less.
In addition to Countrywide Home Loans' standard underwriting guidelines (the
"Standard Underwriting Guidelines"), which are consistent in many respects with
the guidelines applied to mortgage loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac, Countrywide Home Loans uses underwriting guidelines featuring expanded
criteria (the "Expanded Underwriting Guidelines"). The Standard UnderwritingGuidelines and the Expanded Underwriting Guidelines are described furtherunder the next two headings.
October 2005 Offering Prospectus at S-58-60; see also, generally, November 2005 Offering
Prospectus at 5-72-74; January 2006 Offering Prospectus at 5-70-73; September 2006 OfferingProspectus at S-68-71.
40. The statements in the preceding paragraph contained misstatements and material
omissions including in connection with the underwriting of the collateral mortgages. As set forth
below, a material portion of the underlying collateral for the LXST Certificates originated by
CHL were not in accordance with its credit, appraisal and underwriting standards, and moreover,
20
"credit risk" and "quality control" were materially disregarded in favor of generating sufficient
loan volume to complete the massive Certificate securitizations alleged herein.
41. Moreover, the Prospectuses further states that , in addition to the Underwriting.
Guidelines set forth above pertaining to the loans originated by CHL, CHL also employs
"Standard Underwriting Guidelines ", which are more consistent in many respects . with the
guidelines applied to mortgage loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which include
CHL's ability to enforce "expanded underwriting guidelines" in purchasing loans which would
not otherwise be deemed fit under the above standards:
Standard Underwriting Guidelines
Countrywide Home Loans' Standard Underwriting Guidelines for mortgage loanswith non-conforming original principal balances generally allow Loan-to-ValueRatios at origination of up to 95% for purchase money or rate and term-refinancemortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $400,000, up to 90% formortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $650,000, up to 75% formortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $1,000,000, up to 65%for mortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $1,500,000, and up to60% for mortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $2,000,000.
For cash-out refinance mortgage loans, Countrywide Home Loans' StandardUnderwriting Guidelines for mortgage loans with non-conforming originalprincipal balances generally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios at origination of up to75% and original principal balances ranging up to $650,000. The maximum"cash-out" amount permitted is $200,000 and is based in part on the originalLoan-to-Value Ratio of the related mortgage loan. As used in this section of theprospectus supplement, a refinance mortgage loan is classified as a cash-outrefinance mortgage loan by Countrywide Home Loans if the borrower retains anamount greater than the lesser of 2% of the entire amount of the proceeds fromthe refinancing of the existing loan or $2,000.
Countrywide Home Loans' Standard Underwriting Guidelines for conformingbalance mortgage. loans generally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios at origination onowner occupied properties of up to 95% on 1 unit properties with principalbalances up to $359,650 ($539,475 in Alaska and Hawaii) and 2 unit propertieswith principal balances up to $460,400 ($690,600 in Alaska and Hawaii) and upto 80% on 3 unit properties with principal balances of up to $556,500 ($834,750in Alaska and Hawaii) and 4 unit properties with principal balances of up to
21
$691,600 ($1,037,400 in Alaska and Hawaii). On second homes, CountywideHome Loans'Standard . Underwriting Guidelines for conforming balance mortgage loansgenerally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios at origination of up to 95% on I unitproperties with principal balances up to $359,650 ($539,475 in Alaska andHawaii). Countrywide Home Loans' Standard Underwriting Guidelines forconforming balance mortgage loans generally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios atorigination on investment properties of up to 90% on 1 unit properties withprincipal balances up to $359,650 ($539,475 in Alaska and Hawaii) and 2 unitproperties with principal balances up to $460,400 ($690,600 in Alaska andHawaii) and up to 75% on 3 unit properties with principal balances of up to$556,500 ($834,750 in Alaska and Hawaii) and 4 unit properties with principalbalances of up to $691,600 ($1,037,400 in Alaska and Hawaii).
Under its Standard Underwriting Guidelines, Countrywide Home Loans generallypermits a debt-to-income ratio based on the borrower's monthly housing expensesof up to 33% and a debt-to-income ratio based on the borrower's total monthlydebt of up to 38%.
In connection with the Standard Underwriting Guidelines, Countrywide HomeLoans originates or acquires mortgage loans under the Full DocumentationProgram, the Alternative Documentation Program, the Reduced DocumentationProgram, the CLUES Plus Documentation Program or the StreamlinedDocumentation Program.
The Alternative Documentation Program permits a borrower to provide W-2forms instead of tax returns covering the most recent two years, permits bankstatements in lieu of verification of deposits and permits alternative methods ofemployment verification.
Under the Reduced Documentation Program, some underwriting documentationconcerning income, employment and asset verification is waived. CountrywideHome Loans obtains from a prospective borrower either a verification of depositor bank statements for the two-month period immediately before the date of themortgage loan application or verbal verification of employment. Sinceinformation relating to a prospective borrower's income and employment is notverified, the borrower's debt-to-income ratios are calculated based on theinformation provided by the borrower in the mortgage loan application, Themaximum Loan-to-Value Ratio, including secondary financing, ranges up to 75%.
The CLUES Plus Documentation Program permits the verification of employmentby alternative means, if necessary, including verbal verification of employment orreviewing paycheck stubs covering the pay period immediately prior to the date ofthe mortgage loan application. To verify the borrower' s assets and the sufficiencyof the borrower's funds for closing, Countrywide Home Loans obtains deposit orbank account statements from each prospective borrower for the month
22
immediately prior to the date of the mortgage loan application. Under the CLUESPlus Documentation Program, the maximum Loan-to-Value Ratio is 75% andproperty values may be based on appraisals comprising only interior and exteriorinspections. Cash-out refinances and investor properties are not permitted underthe CLUES Plus Documentation Program.
The Streamlined Documentation Program is available for borrowers who arerefinancing an existing mortgage loan that was originated or acquired byCountrywide Home Loans provided that, among other things, the mortgage loanhas not been more than 30 days - delinquent in payment during the previoustwelve-month period. Under the Streamlined Documentation Program, appraisalsare obtained only if the loan amount of the loan being refinanced had a Loan-to-Value Ratio at the time of origination in excess of 80% or if the loan amount ofthe new loan being originated is greater than $650,000. In addition, under theStreamlined Documentation Program, a credit report is obtained but only a limitedcredit review is conducted, no income or asset verification is required, andtelephonic verification of employment is permitted. The maximum Loan-to-Value Ratio under the Streamlined Documentation Program ranges up to 95%.
Expanded Underwriting Guidelines
Mortgage loans which are underwritten pursuant to the Expanded UnderwritingGuidelines may have higher Loan-to-Value Ratios, higher loan amounts anddifferent documentation requirements than those associated with the StandardUnderwriting Guidelines. The Expanded Underwriting Guidelines also permithigher debt-to-income ratios than mortgage loans underwritten pursuant to theStandard Underwriting Guidelines.
Countrywide Home Loans' Expanded Underwriting Guidelines for mortgageloans with non-conforming original principal balances generally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios at origination of up to 95% for purchase money or rate and termrefinance mortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $400,000, up to90% for mortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $650,000, up to80% for mortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $1,000,000, upto 75% for mortgage loans with original principal balances of up to $1,500,000and up to 7D% for mortgage loans with original principal balances- of up to$3,000,000. Under certain circumstances, however, Countrywide Home Loans'Expanded Underwriting Guidelines allow for Loan-to-Value Ratios of up to 100%for purchase money mortgage loans with original principal balances of up to$375,000.
For cash-out refinance mortgage- loans, Countrywide Home Loans' Expanded.Underwriting Guidelines for mortgage loans with non-conforming originalprincipal balances generally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios at origination of up to90% and original principal balances ranging up to $1,500,000. The maximum
23
"cash-out" amount permitted is $400,000 and is based in part on the originalLoan-to-Value Ratio of the related mortgage loan.
Countrywide Home Loans' Expanded Underwriting Guidelines for conformingbalance mortgage loans generally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios at origination onowner occupied properties of up to 100% on 1 unit properties with principalbalances up to $359,650 ($539,475 in Alaska and Hawaii) and 2 unit propertieswith principal balances up to $460,400 ($690,600 in Alaska and Hawaii) and upto 85% on 3 unit properties with principal balances of up to $556,500 ($834,750in Alaska and Hawaii) and 4 unit properties with principal balances of up to$691,600 ($1,037,400 in Alaska and Hawaii). On second homes, -CountrywideHome Loans'Expanded Underwriting Guidelines for conforming balance mortgage loansgenerally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios at origination of up to 95% on 1 unitproperties with principal balances up to $359,650 ($539,475 in Alaska and.Hawaii). Countrywide Home Loans' Expanded Underwriting Guidelines forconforming balance mortgage loans generally allow Loan-to-Value Ratios atorigination on investment properties of up to 90% on 1 unit properties withprincipal balances up to $359,650 ($539,475 in Alaska and Hawaii) and 2 unitproperties with principal balances up to $460,400 ($690,600 in Alaska andHawaii) and up to 85% on 3 unit properties with principal balances of up to$556,500 ($834,750 in Alaska and Hawaii) and 4 unit propertieswith principal balances of up to $691,600 ($1,037,400 in Alaska and Hawaii).
Under its Expanded Underwriting Guidelines, Countrywide Horne Loansgenerally permits a debt-to-income ratio based on the borrower's monthly housingexpenses of up to 36% and a debt-to-income ratio based on the borrower's totalmonthly debt of up to 40%; provided, however, that if the Loan-to-Value Ratioexceeds 80%, the maximum permitted debt-to-income ratios are 33% and 38%,respectively.
In connection with the Expanded Underwriting Guidelines, Countrywide HomeLoans originates or acquires mortgage loans under the Full DocumentationProgram, the Alternative Documentation Program, the Reduced DocumentationLoan Program, the No Income/No Asset Documentation Program and the StatedIncome/Stated Asset Documentation Program. Neither the No Income/No AssetDocumentation Program nor the Stated Income/Stated Asset DocumentationProgram is available under the Standard Underwriting Guidelines.
The same documentation and verification requirements apply to mortgage loansdocumented under the Alternative Documentation Program regardless of whetherthe loan has been underwritten under the Expanded Underwriting Guidelines orthe Standard Underwriting Guidelines. However, under the AlternativeDocumentation Program, mortgage loans that have been underwritten pursuant tothe Expanded Underwriting Guidelines may have higher loan balances and.Loan-to-Value Ratios than those permitted under the Standard Underwriting Guidelines.
24
Similarly, the same documentation and verification requirements apply tomortgage loans documented under the Reduced Documentation Programregardless of whether the loan has been underwritten under the ExpandedUnderwriting Guidelines or the Standard Underwriting Guidelines. However,under the Reduced Documentation Program, higher loan balances and Loan-to-Value Ratios are permitted for mortgage loans underwritten pursuant to theExpanded Underwriting Guidelines than those permitted under the. StandardUnderwriting Guidelines, The maximum Loan-to-Value Ratio, includingsecondary financing, ranges up to 90%. The borrower is not required to discloseany income information for some mortgage loans originated under the ReducedDocumentation Program, and accordingly debt-to-income ratios are not calculatedor included in the underwriting analysis. The maximum Loan-to-Value Ratio,including secondary financing, for those mortgage loans ranges up to 85%.
Under the No Income/No Asset Documentation Program, no documentationrelating to a prospective borrower's income, employment or assets is required andtherefore debt-to-income ratios are not calculated or included in the underwritinganalysis, or if the documentation or calculations are included in a mortgage loanfile, they are not taken into account for purposes of the underwriting analysis.This program is limited to borrowers with excellent credit histories. Under the NoIncome/No Asset Documentation Program, the maximum Loan-to-Value Ratio,including secondary financing, ranges up to 95%. Mortgage loans originatedunder the No Income/No Asset Documentation Program are generally eligible forsale to Fannie Mae orFreddie Mac,
Under the Stated Income/Stated Asset Documentation Program, the mortgageloan application is reviewed to determine that the stated income is reasonable forthe borrower's employment and that the stated assets are consistent with theborrower's income. The Stated Income/Stated Asset Documentation Programpermits maximum Loan-to-Value Ratios up to 90%. Mortgage loans originatedunder the Stated Income/Stated Asset Documentation Program are generallyeligible for sale to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Under the Expanded Underwriting Guidelines, Countrywide Home Loans mayalso provide mortgage loans to borrowers who are not U.S. citizens, includingpermanent and non-permanent residents. The borrower is required to have a validU.S. social security number or a certificate of foreign status (IRS form W-8). Theborrower's income and assets must be verified under the Full DocumentationProgram or the Alternative Documentation Program. The maximum Loan-to-Value Ratio, including secondary financing, is 80%.
October 2005 Offering Prospectus at S-61 -64; see also, November 2005 Offering Prospectus atS-74-77; January 2006 Offering Prospectus at S-73-76; September 2006 Offering Prospectus atS-72-75.
25
42. The statements in the preceding paragraph contained misstatements and material
omissions including that the "guidelines" for determining exceptions were materially disregarded
in favor of generating sufficient loan volume to complete the massive Certificate securitizations
alleged herein.
The Truth Begins To Emerge: Countrywide'sSystematic Improper Lending Practices
43. In or around early 2007, disclosures began to emerge that revealed that
investment banks and home loan lenders had issued billions of dollars of mortgage backed
securities collateralized with home loans which were made to uncreditworthy borrowers,
significantly inflating the value of those securities. At the center of these predatory lending
practices was the world's largest mortgage lender, Countrywide.
44. On or about July 24, 2007, Countrywide shocked the market by reporting that the
Company was forced to write-down $417 million in loans in the second fiscal quarter of 2007
alone. In a press release, Countrywide stated the following-
Credit-related costs in the second quarter included:
Impairment on credit-sensitive retained interests. Impairment charges of $417million were taken during the quarter on the Company's investments in credit-sensitive retained interests. This included $388 million, or approximately $0.40in earnings per diluted share based on a normalized tax rate, or prime homeequity loans. The impairment charges on these residuals were attributable toaccelerated increases in delinquency levels and increases in the estimates offuture and loss severities on the underlying loans.
45. As a result of these disclosures that Countrywide had engaged in the practice of
writing bad loans to uncreditworthy borrowers and that it was much more heavily invested in the
failing subprime and non-traditional loan markets than had been previously disclosed, rating
agencies began what would become a series of ratings downgrades on Countrywide. Standard
26
& Poor's downgraded Countrywide's credit rating on or about August 16, 2007 from "A/A-1" to
"A-/A-2" - which made it more expensive for Countrywide to borrow money. This downgrade
was followed up by Fitch Ratings' downgrade of Countrywide Home Loan's (a subsidiary of
Countrywide Financial Corporation) servicer ratings on August 24, 2007.
46. Countrywide is currently under investigation by a panel of the United States
Senate for predatory lending -- a practice whereby a lender deceptively convinces a borrower to
agree to unfair and abusive loan terms, including interest and fees that are unreasonably high-
Countrywide's increased risk of not being able to collect on these predatory mortgage loans puts
the LXST Certificates underlying mortgage collateral at risk, thereby further increasing the risk
to Plaintiff and the Class.
47. During an August 29, 2007 press conference reported in The Wall Street Journal,
Senator Charles Schumer, chairman of the Senate panel investigating Countrywide's predatory
lending practices stated:
"Countrywide's most lucrative brokers are those that make bad loans that arelargely designed to fail the borrower ..., [Countrywide's] brokers can earn anextra 1 percent of the loan value in commission by adding a three-yearprepayment penalty to loans."
48. On or about October 26, 2007, Countrywide disclosed that it had been further hurt
by the mortgage crisis and suffered a loss of over $1.2 billion in the third quarter of 2007, which
was accompanied by forced write-downs of $690 million in subprime mortgages and non-
traditional loans because of their rising delinquencies and defaults. This news resulted in a
downgrade by Fitch Ratings of Countrywide long-term counterparty credit rating from "A-" to
"BBB+." Subsequently, on or about November 19, 2007, Moody's announced that although it
would maintain its rating on Countrywide, it had established a "negative outlook" on
Countrywide - meaning that a downgrade was imminent.
27
49. On or about March 10, 2008, the federal government disclosed that it had initiated
a probe into the fraudulent mortgage practices engaged in by Countrywide, including
manipulation of the subprime and non-traditional loan markets, knowledge of and disregard for
underwriting inaccuracies and misrepresentations, and specific instructions to underwriters by
Countrywide not to scrutinize certain types of loans it issued. Subsequently, on April 2, 2008, a
Federal Bankruptcy Judge overseeing the proceedings of more than 300 Countrywide related
bankruptcies ordered a further inquiry into the misconduct, and specifically the illegal inflation,
of fees throughout the loan process, that had been occurring at Countrywide.
50. As a direct result of the allegations surrounding the investigation into
Countrywide's wrongdoing, on March 12, 2008, Fitch downgraded its long-term issuer default
rating to the lowest investment-grade of "BBB-" citing further deterioration of Countrywide's
home mortgage portfolio. Soon after,. on April 3, 2008, Moody's followed up with a downgrade
of Countrywide's bank strength to "D" from "C-"' - indicating severe instability in the mortgage
lenders' banking arm due to shrinking liquidity and heavy 'debt. Countrywide's shrinking
liquidity and heavy debt burden were a direct result of Countrywide's huge portfolio of subprime
and non-traditional loans whose market, by April 2009, had dried up completely, resulting in
increasing write-downs and losses at Countrywide.
51. Finally, on April 30, 2008, an article published in The Wall Street Journal
entitled Countrywide Loss Focuses Attention on Underwriting -- Evidence ofAbuses By Outside
Brokers; A Fraud in Alaska, revealed that a federal probe of Countrywide, the mortgage loan
originator for the Bond collateral, found evidence Countrywide's sales executives deliberately
overlooked inflated income figures for many borrowers. Indeed, Countrywide's "Fast and Easy"
28
mortgage program, in which borrowers were asked to provide little or no documentation of their
finances, particularly was prone to abuse by loan offices and outside mortgage brokers.
52. On May 7, 2008, The New York Times published a tongue-in-cheek article
entitled "A Little Pity, Please, for Lenders," that attempted to -put the onus on the borrowers for
the current residential mortgage crisis. Particularly, the article noted that the low documentation
and stated documentation loans that aggressive lenders specialized in - e.g., Countrywide's No
Income/No Assets Program and Stated Income/Stated Assets Program -- have "became known
within the mortgage industry as "liars' loans" because many of the borrowers falsified their
income." However, these relaxed and credit criteria-less loan program were the brain-child of
aggressive lenders just looking to amass volume loans for securitizations.
53, In addition to'ongoing SEC, FBI and FTC investigations, the Attorneys General
of California, Florida and Illinois all launched investigations of Countrywide for deceptive
business practices relating to its mortgage lending, and more recently, both California and
Illinois have commenced lawsuits against Countrywide.
54. As reported in the June 25, 2008 edition of The New York Times the Illinois
attorney general is suing Countrywide and Angelo Mozilo, contending that the company and its
executives defrauded borrowers in the state by selling them costly and defective loans that
quickly went into foreclosure. The lawsuit accuses Countrywide and its chief executive of
relaxing underwriting standards, structuring loans with risky features, misleading consumers
with hidden fees and marketing claims, and creating incentives for its employees and brokers to
sell questionable loans. The Illinois attorney general explained. "This mounting disaster has had
an impact on individual homeowners statewide and is having an impact on the global economy.
It is all from the greed of people like Mozilo." The Times reported that the complaint, which
29
was derived from 111,000 pages of Countrywide documents and interviews with former
employees, "paints a picture of a lending machine that was more concerned with volume of loans
than quality."
55. As reported in the June 26, 2008 edition of The New York Times California filed
a similar lawsuit against Countrywide and Mozilo accusing defendants of engaging in unfair
trade practices that encouraged homeowners to take out risky loans, regardless of whether they
could repay them. Jerry Brown, California's attorney general, stated: "Countrywide exploited
the American dream of homeownership and then sold its mortgages for huge profits on the
secondary market."
The Truth Begins To Emerge : ludyMac'sSystematic Im ro er Leading Practices
56. From 2001 until 2006, the United States experienced a bubble in the housing
market resulting in inflated home valuations and a related refinancing boom. This booming real
estate market opened up new opportunities for mortgage lenders like IndyMac to deal in new
types of higher-risk loans. IndyMac operated as one of the nation's largest mortgage finance
companies until its meltdown due to the United States mortgage crisis in early 2007.
IndyMac's Aft-A Loans Shared Characteristics ofSubprime Loans
57. IndyMac's growth was propelled by its utilization of Alt-A stated income high
CLTV/piggyback and negative/interest only amortizing loans. By the third quarter of 2006,
IndyMac was the top Alt-A lender with over approximately $49 billion in Alt-A production
which represented 77.5% of IndyMac's total origination volume. See Zelman Credit Suisse
Analyst Report, "Mortgage Liquidity du Jour: Underestimated No More," March 12, 2007.
58. In contrast to a traditional bank or mortgage broker who would be focused on
prime or 30-year fixed mortgages, IndyMac stated in the Prospectuses that the primary products
30
sold were high quality loans and option ARMS. However, this description of the IndyMac
mortgage production was misleading. While at one time, Alt-A loans were primarily taken by
wealthy buyers with large down payments and excellent credit, in recent years more Alt-A
borrowers credit scores were closer to those of Subprime borrowers. In fact, Moody's Investors
Service recently announced it will begin modeling Alt-A loans as Subprime loans absent strong
compensating factors, after finding "[a]ctual performance of weaker Alt-A loans has in many
cases been comparable to stronger subprime performance, signaling that underwriting standards
were likely closer to subprime guidelines." Moody's Says Some 'Alt-A' Mortgages Are like
Subprime, Bloomberg News, July 31, 2007.
59. On March 15, 2007, IndyMac issued a press release claiming that it had been
inappropriately categorized by many media sources as a subprime lender. IndyMac stated that it
is primarily a prime/Alt-A mortgage lender with minimal exposure to subprime.
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2007--In light of currentconditions impacting the subprime mortgage market, IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.(NYSE:NDE) ("Indymac(R)" or the "Company"), the holding company forIndyMac Bank, F.S.B. ("Indymac Bank(R)"), is providing this update to reaffirmthe fundamental strength of its hybrid thrift/mortgage banking business model;clarify its position as a prime/Alt-A mortgage lender with minimal exposure tosubprime; highlight the strengths of its federally chartered savings and loan(national thrift) structure in comparison to a mortgage REIT structure; and giveadditional information on the Company's credit outlook.
Indymac's exposure to subprime mortgages is small, and the Company's creditperformance statistics are reflective of prime/Alt-A mortgage lending.
Indymac has been inappropriately categorized by many media sources as asubprime lender, and we wish to clarify our position as predominantly aprime/Alt-A lender with the following facts:
1. Based on the definition of subprime established by the Office of ThriftSupervision (OTS) for our. regulatory filings, only 3.0 percent ofIndymac's $90 billion in mortgage loan production in 2006 was subprime.
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2, Indymac' s asset-backed securitizations (ABS) classified as subprimetotal $6.8 billion(l) and represent only 4,4 percent of our total $156 billionportfolio of loans serviced as of December 31, 2006.
3. We do not rank among the top 25 subprime lenders in the country inany current industry survey, nor are we part of the ABX Index of the top20 subprime issuers.
4. Subprime mortgages generally include those loans where the borrower'sFICO score is 620 or below. In contrast the average FICO score onIndymac's 2006 loan production was 701.
Alt-A loans are generally for prime credit quality borrowers who do not meet thepublished underwriting requirements of the GSEs, primarily because they choosenot to fully document their income but instead elect to qualify for the loan basedon their strong credit history, liquid cash reserves and home equity level, Despitenot meeting the published underwriting requirements of the GSEs, most of ourconformingbalance Alt-A loans are, in fact, eligible for sale to the GSEs pursuantto established contractual agreements. We do sell Alt-A loans to the GSEs whenthat is the best execution, and as of December 31, 2006, 21 percent of our $110billion portfolio of Alt-A loans serviced for others was serviced for the GSEs.'
Alt-A credit performance is considerably closer to prime, agency conformingloans than to subprime. As of December 31, 2006 (the most current industry dataavailable), the 30+day delinquency percentage for Alt-A loans in the mortgageindustry was 5.0 percent as compared to 22.7 percent for subprime loans.(2)There is no current industry data available for agency conforming loans as theGSEs have yet to file financial statements for 2006, which would include thatdata. Using Indymac's agency conforming data as a proxy for the industry, our30+day delinquency percentage was 2.52 percent as of December 31, 2006.
60. As reported on. March 19, 2007 on CNNMoney.com `Liars Loans': Mortgage
woes beyond subprime, Alt-A mortgages issued by lenders, such as IndyMac, "could be the next
threat to the troubled real estate market - and the economy."
NEW YORK (CNNMoney. com) -- Subprime mortgages have been generating alot of attention, and worry, among investors , economists and regulators , but thoseloans may be only part of the threat posed to the housing market by risky lending.
Some experts in the field are now concerned about the so-called Alt. A mortgageloan market, which has grown even faster than the market for subprime mortgageloans to borrowers with less than top credit.
32
Alt. A refers to people with better credit scores (A-rated) who borrow with littleor no verification of income, or so-called alternative documentation.
But some people in the industry call them "stated income" loans, or worse, "liarloans." And they were an important part of the record real estate boom of 2004and 2005 that has recently shown signs of turning into a bust.
Standard & Poor's estimates that the Alt. A market has gone from less than $20billion in loans in the fourth quarter of 2003 to more than $100 billion in each ofthe last three quarters. Overall, new Alt. A loans totaled $386 billion in 2006,according S&P's estimates - up 28 percent from 2005.
By comparison, subprime loans reached $640 billion in 2006, according to tradepublication Inside Mortgage Finance, though that was down about 4 percent fromthe record level reached in 2005.
"Much of the growth of the last few years has come from reaching out beyondwhere the lenders should have reached out," said Guy Cecala, publisher of thetrade publication. "It wasn't normal business that walked through their door. Allwas based on the idea that home price appreciation would cover over a lot of theproblems that occurred. But that hasn't happened."
But just as the Alt. A market has grown even faster than subprime, some believe itcould shrink even faster amid growing concerns in the marketplace. That meansanother pool of money that has supported home sales and housing prices beingyanked just as home sales and prices are already in decline.
But many in the field say that there is a real squeeze on Alt. A loans as lenderstighten up on underwriting standards. Mitch Ohlbaum, president of mortgagebroker Legend Mortgage whose business was about 55 percent Alt. A, said he'sseen a dramatic change in the business the last few years, and its now swingingback away from the loans.
"Stated income borrowers were typically self-employed people who write off a lotof income, so their tax returns really don't reflect what they're earning," saidOhlbaum. But he said the loans have grown in popularity for folks who had nomoney to put down on a home, or could only pay interest on a loan, especially byreal estate investors.
"All that nutty stuff is going to disappear," said Ohlbaum. "Everyone today isshying away front the 100 percent of value loan. But anytime there's a big changein the market like there is now, everyone will overcompensate for a while. I thinkthis will last for 12' to 14 months before things are back to normal, and I thinkyou'll see more foreclosures, more people in trouble in the meantime."
33
And he said some types of Alt, A loans that had become popular , such as the no-money-down loans, are almost impossible to arrange today. And the definition ofwhat is considered an A-quality borrower has tightened up.
Inside Mortgage Finance's Cecala said he believes underwriting of the loans
had grown too loose by the end of last year, and that even some subprime
borrowers were getting so-called low-doe or no-doe loans. He believes as much
as a quarter ofAlt. A loans were going to subprime borrowers. "In some ways
it's the worstpossible combination, " he said
Now with the market correcting, even some borrowers with good credit arehaving Alt. A loan applications rejected, Ohibaum said. That will cut off anothersource of financing for the battered real estate market.
The biggest Alt. A lender is Pasadena, Calif-based IndyMac Bancorp. Tradepublication Inside Mortgage Finance estimates it did $70.2 billion of the loans in2006, up 48 percent from a year earlier . As the sector grew, its shares shot upnearly 50 percent in a year and hit a record high in April 2006 . But with risingconcern about the mortgage sector, its shares have plunged 36 percent since thestart of 2007.
61. 51. On March 21, 2007, Housing Market issued an article entitled "US
Housing Market - IndyMac - We are Not a Subprime Lender!" which criticized the
differentiation between subprime and Alt-A provided by IndyMac - "the king-pin of Alt-A
loans." IndyMac's key differentiating factor - the borrower's FICO score -- "is hardly the root
cause of the escalating subprime defaults," but rather "[t]he problem lies in the type of loans that
have been originated."
What is Alt-A?
Lenders use the term Alt-A (Alternative-documentation) to categorize ordifferentiate between borrowers. Applicants for this type of loan often lack proofof income from traditional employment. Investors and self-employed borrowersare good candidates. Commissioned employees with inconsistent income also fallinto this group. IndyMac is the king-pin of Alt-A loans. Trade publication InsideMortgage Finance estimates it did $70.2 billion Alt-A loans in 2006, up 48percent from a year earlier. This was nearly SO% of the company's mortgageoriginations last year.
Alt-A loans are also known as "Stated income- or "Liar Loans" since incomeis taken as fact. No further documentation is required As long the automated
34
property appraisal software is functioning, approval is only a few keystrokesaway. These loans are tremendously profitable, since the underwriting costsare much lower and the rates are higher than a standard 30 year fixedmortgage.
IndyMac pointed-out in its press release that subprime mortgages generallyinclude loans where the borrower's FICO score is 620 or below and that theircustomer's average score was 701 in 2006. This is an interesting data point, but aperson's FICO score is hardly the root cause of the escalating subprime defaults.The problem lies in the type of loans that have been originated.
Creative loans using teaser rates, negative amortization and interest-only arecausing the chaos. Here is an example. An option ARM allows a borrower to payfu11 principle and interest, interest only or less than full interest based on a teaserrate. If a person elects to pay less than full interest the remainder of the interest isput back into the principle. This is called negative amortization. A person wouldchoose this option, because it could cut their monthly payment in half versus afully amortized product. However, like all good things - it must end at somepoint. Most of these loans typically reset interest rates in 1 or 2 years. What'sworse is when the negative amortization reaches its limit, usually 110% of theoriginal loan, not only does the interest rate reset, but both principal and interestmust be paid going forward. This could double or triple the monthly payment.
Resetting of such loans is causing the subprime sector to explode ... Guess what?Alt-A is dominated by these loans as well . Regardless of a person's FICO score, adoubling or tripling of their mortgage is going to cause a problem . The higherFICO person may be able to buy a little more time, but the end result will be thesame.
62. Further, it was after the Offerings, and only in 2007, that IndyMac first separated
out its loan production to include a delineation of piggyback loans , which showed that a
significant portion of IndyMac's loan production was risky 80/20 piggyback mortgage loans.
Ind Mac's A ressive Underwritin : A Game Hot Potato That Burned Investors
63. As the real estate market in this country softened and interest rates increased,
IndyMac kept pushing to generate volume in the high quality mortgage market by loosening the
Company's underwriting practices and introducing a growing percentage of higher risk mortgage
products, including adjustable-rate, interest-only loans and "stated income" loans, where even
W-2 wage earners did not have to bother verifying their stated income levels.
35
k
64. In order to continue to grow its business in an already troubled market, IndyMae
had to loosen underwriting standards and quickly dispose of the resulting "Hot Potato" mortgage
loans before borrowers defaults, by selling the loans outright or securitizing them and selling the
repacked loans, as they did in the October 2005 Offering, November 2005 Offering, December
2005 Offering, January 2006 Offering, and September 2006 Offering.
65. Indeed , Michael W. Perry, Chairman of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.'s Board of
Directors and Chief Executive Officer conceded in an analyst conference call that IndyMac's
securitizations are a game of "Hot Potato" where here the Plaintiff and the Class got burned:
And generally what we try to do, when the [interest-rate] spreads are very tight, iswe try to play Hot Potato and sell even our rate locks forward into asecuritization.
January 26, 2006, IndyMac Earnings Conference Call at 19 [Thompson StreetEvents].
66. Last fall following the collapse of the subprime market, members of Congress
voiced their disapproval of the "Hot Potato" game played by financial institutions such as
IndyMac: "[I] have heard that all the players duck their responsibility and point the finger at
anyone but themselves. This has become a game of hot potato - and it has to stop. If you ask
me, everyone is responsible and should be held accountable." Hon. Senator Robert Menendez,
New Jersey, Committee Statement on the The Role of Credit Agencies on the Subprime Credit
Markets, September 26,.2007, at http://menendez. senate.gov/newsroom. See also Congressman
Kanjorski' s statement : "To me, it appears that none of the parties that put together or purchase
these faulty home loans, packaged them into mortgage-backed securities, and then divided these
securities into tranches and repackaged them into CDOs, CDOs-squared, and CDOs-cubed had
any skin in the game. In the end, it was the final investor left with this hot potato od subprime
debt and significant losses." Opening Statement of Congressman Paul Kanjorski, Subcommittee
36
on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, Hearing on the Role of
the Credit Rating Agencies in the Structured Finance Market, September 27, 2007.
67. An example of IndyMac's loose underwriting and aggressive mortgage lending is
set forth in an August 20, 2007 Business Week article entitled, "Did Big Lenders Cross the Line?
Law Suits Assert Some Firms Doctored Loan Documents." The article discusses the disturbing
story of Elouise Manuel, whose stated-income loan was directed by an fndyMac underwriter to
black-out certain income documentation in order for approval of that loan. The conditional
approval letter from IndyMac notes, "Need [Social Security] benefits letters for last two years
with income blacked out." Ultimately, Ms. Manuel was unable to pay the loan, and subsequently
lost her home.
68. These types of stated-income loans were the easiest to manipulate, and the easiest
for IndyMac to follow through on due diligence had it so desired. IndyMac could have insisted
on double-checking a client's stated income by utilizing IRS Form 4506. When asked by
analysts during the November 2, 2006 Conference Call, as to what percentage of IndyMac's Alt-
A customers provided IndyMac with IRS Form 4506, Michael W, Perry, Chairman of IndyMac
Bancorp, Inc.'s Board of Directors and Chief Executive officer was evasive and non-responsive.
Indeed, studies have confirmed that upwards of 90% of stated-income loan borrowers
exaggerated their state income by over 50%. "Eighth Periodic Mortgage Fraud Case to Report to
Mortgage Bankers' Association," produced by Mortgage Asset Research Institute, Inc. April
2006.
The Truth Becomes Revealed. IndyMac Takes Responsibility ForMistakes It Made Contributin g To US Rousing Market Crisis
69. It its Letter to Shareholders, contained in IndyMac Bancorp's 2007 Annual
Report, dated February 12, 2008, IndyMac Bancorp Chairman and CEO Perry "[took] full
37
responsibility for the mistakes [IndyMac] made," indeed, that IndyMac's "innovative home
lending went too far" and resulted in a "`systemic' underestimation of credit risk." Perry also
confirmed that once "we began to realize [the systemic underestimation of credit risk], we
tightened our [underwriting] guidelines throughout the last year..-.."
Dear shareholders,
2007 was a terrible ear for our industry, for IndyMac and for you, our owners....
Who is to blame for the mortgage industry's financial losses and also the recordnumber of Americans losing their homes?
All home lenders, including Indymac, were a part of the problem, and, asIndymac's CEO, I take full responsibility for the mistakes that we made.However, objective reviewers of this mortgage crisis understand that homelenders and mortgage brokers were not the only ones responsible. Systemicproblems in our secondary mortgage markets and credit markets, and ourgovernment's over-stimulation of the housing market via monetary and taxpolicies (the capital gains tax break on home sales encouraged speculation), wereall major factors that contributed to the problem. Indymac and most home lenderswere not "greedy and stupid". Most of us believed that innovative home lendingserved a legitimate economic and social purpose, allowing many U.Sconsumers to be able to achieve the American dream ofhomeownership ... andwe still do. Homeownership is the main way we Americans accumulate wealth,and, in fact, a recent Federal Reserve Bank study shows that homeowners onaverage have 46 times the personal wealth of renters.
As innovative home lending and loan products became more widespread, theresult was more people succeeding (in homeownership) and more people failing(losing their home) than ever before, But everyone, including both thegovernment and consumer advocate groups who encouraged this lending viaenforcement of CRA lending requirements, also bought into the concept that, iflenders and investors could properly price this increased risk, the higher numberof failures was worth the social and economic goals of expanded homeownership.And it worked for many years; the homeownership rate, which had not moved inseveral decades, expanded from 64% to 69% from 1994 to 2006, allowing 4million additional Americans the opportunity to have the American dream andbuild wealth.
However, in retrospect, like many innovations (e.g., the Internet, railroads,etc.), innovative home lending went too far. The housing bubble, causedprimarily by the low interest rates for ARM mortgages fostered by the Fed's
38
accommodative monetary policy and even lower rates for fixed/long-termmortgages due largely to tremendous global liquidity , combined with strongdemand by institutional investors for assets with higher yields, resulted in a"systemic " underestimation of credit risk, This systemic underestimation of
credit risk was not just for mortgages but for many forms of credit . By way ofexample, Indymac (and many other major financial institutions) has for years
used one of the major credit rating agencies ' models to assess and price creditrisk on home loans, This model estimates expected lifetime losses on a loan level
basis, and we closely monitor these average estimated lifetime losses for all ofour
loan production (that can be evaluated) on an ongoing basis . This particularrating agency revised its model in November 2007 (from version 6.0 to 6.1).Applying version 6 0 to our 4th quarter of2006 production (the version in placeat that time) indicated an average expected lifetime loss rate of 0.88%, which we
felt was a reasonable level of expected losses at which we could properly and
adequately price the loans . However, now applying the updated version 6:1 to this
same 4th quarter of 2006 pool of loans results in an average expected lifetime
loss rate of I.88%, a 114% increase in expected losses in one year. MY clearly
indicates the extent to which the systemic underestimation ofcredit risk took placein the mortgage markets , As we began to realize this, we tightened our
guidelines throughout the last year, with the result that our average expected
lifetime loss rate for 4th quarter of2007 declined to 0.45% based on version 6.1, a
76% reduction in credit risk as compared to 4th quarter of 2006, boding well for
the future credit quality and related credit provisions/costs of our new business
model.
Why didn't mortgage lenders see that things were going too far?
Lenders didn't see that things were going too far, partly because we were too
close to it, but costly because objective evidence of this credit risk did not show
up in our delinquencies and financial performance until it was too late to
prevent significant losses. And there were many events along the way that.
confirmed for those of us who believed that innovative home lending was
possibly a paradigm shift (similar to widespread ownership of stocks byconsumers) and definitely a legitimate marketplace: major financial institutions
were offering these products and spending billions to purchase companies who
specialized in these products; Wall Street firms and broker/dealers of major banks
were underwriting our and others' transactions and also spending billions as
recently as 2006 to buy non-GSE lenders in order to vertically integrate their
home lending and securitization activities; major mortgage and bond insurers
were insuring individual mortgages and pools of mortgages or bonds created from
these mortgages; major credit rating agencies were providing strong ratings on
our and others' transactions; and major investors around the world were
purchasing these mortgage-backed bonds and even CDOs backed by these bonds
(something we home lenders had no involvement in or awareness of). Very few in
the private sector or in goverment predicted that the bursting of the housingbubble would be so severe and would result in the current wave of delinquencies,
39
foreclosures and credit losses and the eventual collapse of the non-GSE secondarymarket.... even for high credit quality, full-documentation, jumbo home loans.
It is also important to understand that the rapid rise in housing prices is one of thekey culprits in this current housing and mortgage crisis . In modem times , housingprices have declined in certain regions of the country but never on a nationwidebasis . As a result of this fact and the important social and economic benefits thatare clearly derived from homeownership , the government (first through Indymac2007 Annual Report 5 FHANA programs and then through the GSEs)encouraged a U.S. mortgage market built upon very high leverage, with LTVratios nearing 100% for first-time hornebuyer programs. However, as homeprices decline, either regionally or nationally, the leverage in a home loan,combined with the leverage of a financial, institution or securitization structure,can result in significant losses for financial institutions , investors and consumers.Add to this mix a housing market that has not had a single regional market declinein over 15 years and, in fact, had a huge boom in prices from 2003 to 2006, andyou can begin to understand how home lending was impacted. Automated risk-based models, on which the entire market relied, replacedportions oftraditionalunderwriting and credit evaluation, and only in retrospect is it now clear thatthese models did not perform as predicted during a period ofsevere economicstress. As events unfolded, this proved to be particularly the case with respect toprograms such as piggyback loans and high LTV cash-out refinancetransactions, including home equity and second mortgages.
The bottom line of the housing crisis for indymac and its leadership. team. As Isaid earlier, I take full responsibility for the errors we made at Indymac...
IndyMac 2007 Annual Report, Letter to Shareholders, pp. 1-9 (Emphasis added).
Certificate Underwriter Lehman Brothers Is theSubiect of New York Attorney General Investitation
70. On January 31, 2008, it was reported in The Wall Street Journal that New York
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is pursuing an investigation into whether Wall Street firms,
including Lehman Brothers, improperly packaged and sold mortgage securities. Attorney
General Cuomo subpoenaed Lehman Brothers and others investigating the firms for securities
law violations under the 1921 Martin Act, in that these firms might have "gloss[ed] over warning
signs of bad mortgage loans they packaged into securities."
40
. ,
The New York attorney general's office, pursuing an investigation into whetherWall Street firms improperly packaged and sold mortgage securities, is latchingonto a powerful regulatory tool: the.1921 Martin Act.
The state law, considered one of the most potent legal tools in the nation, spellsout a broad definition of securities fraud without requiring that prosecutors proveintent to defraud. As a result, the act has become an influential hammer in recentyears for New York state prosecutors in cracking down on securitiesmanipulation, improper allocation of initial public Offering of stock andmisleading stock research on Wall Street.
Now the staff ofNew York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is looking to usethis legal lever as it examines whether firms might have committed securitiesfraud by glossing over warning signs of bad mortgage loans they packaged into
securities, people familiar with the matter said.
Some officials on Wall Street hadn't expected Mr. Cuomo to employ theaggressive prosecutorial tactics against the financial industry used frequently byhis predecessor, Eliot Spitzer. Using the Martin Act will provide an easier road to
prosecute mortgage abuses than other investigators examining this area. The act
also will allow the New York attorney general to pursue both criminal and civil
penalties.
The development comes as the attorney general's office has gained the
cooperation of Clayton Holdings Inc., a company that provides due diligence on
pools of mortgages for Wall Street firms, At issue is whether the Wall Street
firms failed to disclose adequately the warnings they receivedfrom Clayton and
other due-diligence providers about "exceptions," or mortgages that didn't meet
minimum lending standards.
Such disclosures could have prompted credit-ratings firms to judge certain
mortgage-backed securities as riskier investments, making them more difficult to
sell, these people said. The attorney general is examining, among other things,
whether some Wall Street firms concealed information about the exceptions
from the credit-rating concerns, these people said, in a bid to bolster ratings of
mortgage securities and make them more attractive to buyers, such as pension
funds, which often required AAA, or investment grade, ratings on potential
investments in securities containing risky mortgages.
The attorney general's office has issued Martin Act subpoenas, which don't
spell out whether matters are civil or criminal in nature, according to peoplefamiliar with the matter. So far, the recipients include financial firms Bear
Stearns Cos., Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co., and
Lehman Brothers Holdin s Inc. , possibly among others. Representatives of
Bear, Deutsche, Morgan, and Lehman declined to comment on the investigation.
41
A Merrill spokesman said, "We cooperate with regulators when they ask us to,"but declined to elaborate.
Meantime, some industry specialists are calling for reforms in the way securitiesfirms package mortgage securities. Among them is making public the due-diligence reports provided by Clayton and its rivals to both ratings firms and thepublic. "We need to ... improve the due-diligence process by standardizing it andby disclosing" the results to ratings agencies and investors, said Rod Dubitsky,head of asset-backed securities research at Credit Suisse Group. Anotherimprovement, he said, would be hiring an independent party to "police" ormonitor the loan pool, ensuring that mortgages being packaged into new securitiesfor sale had the loan attributes that had been described.
With data provided by Clayton, Mr. Cuomo's office is seeking to gather moreinformation on how Wall Street fines purchased home loans that had been singledout as "exception loans" -- that is, loans that didn' t meet the originator's. lendingstandards . Data from Clayton, for instance, indicates that in 2005 and 2006, yearsin which the mortgage-securitization business was going full throttle, someinvestment banks acting as underwriters were purchasing large numbers of loansthat had been flagged as having exceptions, these people said.
In 2006, according to the data, as much as 30% of the pool of exception loans waspurchased by some securities firms, these people said. One likely reason: Flawedloans could be purchased more cheaply than standard loans could be, lowering afirm's costs as it sought to compile enough mortgages for a new security.
(Emphasis added).
71. In connection with each of the October 2005 Offering, November 2005 Offering,
December 2005 Offering, January 2006 Offering, and September 2006 Offering, Lehman
Brothers failed to conduct meaningful due diligence, including in connection with the
underwriting standards used to originate the Certificate collateral.
LOSS CAUSATION
72. As a result of the foregoing disclosures , the value of the Certificates had
substantially collapsed. The Carpenters Health Fund's investment in LXST Certificates has
declined by approximately 61 percent - from $125,000 at the time of the Offerings to $48,629.56
at the time this action was commenced.
42
COUNT I
Violation of Section 11 of The Securities ActA ainst All Defendant
73. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation contained above.
74. This claim is brought by Plaintiff pursuant to Section 11 of the Securities Act and
asserted on behalf of all other members of the Class who purchased or acquired LXST
Certificates on or traceable to the Offerings.
75. Defendants SASC is the registrant for the Offerings and filed the Registration
Statements and Prospectuses as the issuer of the LXST Certificates , as defined in Section
I I(a)(I) of the Securities Act.
76. The Individual Defendants were officers and/or directors of SASC at the time the
Registration Statement before the Offerings became effective, and at the time of the
Prospectuses, and with their consent were identified as such in the Registration Statements. The
Individual Defendants are liable for the misstatements and omissions in the Registration
Statements alleged herein under Section I I (a)(1) of the Securities Act.
77. Defendant LB served as the Underwriter for the Offerings and qualifies as such
according to the definition in Section 2(a)(l 1) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77b(a)(11). As
such, LB participated in the solicitation , Offerings, and sale of the LXST Certificates to the
investing public pursuant to the Registration Statements and the Prospectuses.
78. The Registration Statements and the Prospectuses, at the time they became
effective, contained material misstatements of fact and omitted facts necessary to make the facts
stated therein not misleading, as set forth above . The facts misstated and omitted would have
been material to a reasonable person reviewing the Registration Statements and the Prospectuses.
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79. The Defendants did not make a reasonable investigation and perform due
diligence and did not possess reasonable grounds for believing that the statements contained in
the Registration Statements and Prospectuses were true, did not omit any material fact, and were
not materially misleading.
80. Plaintiff and the other Class members did not know, and in the exercise of
reasonable diligence, could not have known of the misstatements and omissions contained in the
Registration Statements and the Prospectuses.
81. Plaintiff and other Class members sustained damages as a result of misstatements
and omissions in the Registration Statements and the Prospectuses , for which they are entitled to
compensation.
82. Plaintiff brought this action within one year after the discovery of the untrue
statements and omissions , and within three years after the Offerings.
COUNT U
Violation of Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act
(Against SASC, LXST and LB)
83. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation contained above.
84. This Count is brought pursuant to Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act on behalf
of the Class, against all Defendants.
85. By means of the Registration Statements and Prospectuses , and by using means
and instruments of transportation and communication in interstate commerce and, of the mails,
the Defendants through the Offerings sold LXST Certificates to Plaintiff and other members of
the Class.
86. Defendants SASC, LXST, the Individual Defendants and the Underwriter
Defendant each successfully solicited these purchases, motivated at least in part by their own
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financial interest. The Defendants each reviewed and participated in drafting the Prospectuses.
Through ensuring the successful completion of the Offerings, the Underwriter Defendant
obtained substantial underwriting fees.
87. The Registration Statements and the Prospectuses, at the time it became effective,
contained material misstatements of fact and omitted facts necessary to make the facts stated
therein not misleading, as set forth above . The facts misstated and omitted would have been
material to a reasonable person reviewing the Registration Statements and the Prospectuses,
88. Defendants as "sellers" owed to the purchasers of the LXST Certificates,
including Plaintiff and other Class members , the duty to perform due diligence and make a
reasonable and diligent investigation of the statements contained in the Registration Statements
and the Prospectuses, to ensure that such statements were true and that there was no omission to
state a material fact required to be stated in order to make the statements contained therein not
misleading. Defendants knew of, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known of, the
misstatements and omissions contained in the IPO materials as set forth above.
89. Plaintiff and other members of the Class purchased or otherwise acquired
LXST Certificates pursuant to the defective Registration Statements and Prospectuses . Plaintiff
did not know, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence could not have known, of the untruths
and omissions contained in the Registration Statements and the Prospectuses.
90. Plaintiff, individually and representatively, hereby offers to tender to Defendants
those securities which Plaintiff and other Class members continue to own, on behalf of all
members of the Class who continue to own such securities, in return for the consideration paid
for those securities together with interest thereon. Class members who have sold their LXST
Certificates are entitled to rescissionary damages.
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91, By reason of the conduct alleged herein, these Defendants violated, and/or
controlled a person who violated Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Accordingly, Plaintiff
and members of the Class who hold LXST Certificates purchased pursuant and/or traceable to
the Offerings have the right to rescind and recover the consideration paid for their LXST
Certificates and hereby elect to rescind and tender their LXST Certifi cates to the Defendants
sued herein. Plaintiff and Class members who have sold their LXST Certificates are entitled to
rescissionary damages.
COUNT III
Violation of Section 15 of The Securities Act(Against Defendants SASC, LXST and the Individual Defendants )
92. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation contained above.
93. This claim is brought by Plaintiff pursuant to Section 15 of the Securities Act and
asserted on behalf of all Class members who purchased or acquired LXST Certificates in the
Offerings.
94. The Individual Defendants at all relevant times participated in the operation and
management of SASC and LXST, and conducted and participated, directly and indirectly, in the
conduct of SASC and LXST' s business affairs.
95. As officers and/or directors of SASC, the Individual Defendants had a duty to
disseminate accurate and truthful information in the Registration Statements and the
Prospectuses.
96. Defendant SASC is the Parent Corporation and sole owner of LXST, and at all
relevant times participated in the operation and management of the LXST, and conducted and
participated, directly and indirectly, in the conduct of LXST business affairs.
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97, As set forth above, it is alleged that the Registration Statements and Prospectuses
issued in connection with the LXST Offerings contained material misstatements of fact, and
omitted facts necessary to make the facts contained therein not misleading, in violation of
Sections I l and 12 ofthe Securities Act.
99. Because of their positions of control and authority as senior officers and directors
of SASC, the Individual Defendants were able to , and did, control the contents of the
Registration Statement and Prospectuses which contained material misstatements of fact and
omitted facts necessary to make the facts stated therein not misleading. The Individual
Defendants were therefore "controlling persons" of LXST within the meaning of Section 15 of
the Securities Act.
99. In addition, because of its sole ownership of LXST and its control and authority
as Parent Corporation, Defendant SASC was able to, and did, control the contents of the
Registration Statements and the Prospectus which contained material misstatements of fact and
omitted facts necessary to make the facts stated therein not misleading. Defendant SASC was
therefore a "controlling person" ofLXST within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act.
100. Plaintiff and other Class members purchased LXST Certificates issued pursuant to
the Offerings. The Offerings was conducted pursuant to the Registration Statements and the
Prospectuses.
101. The Registration Statements and Prospectuses, at the time they became effective,
contained material misstatements of fact and omitted facts necessary to make the facts stated
therein not misleading. The facts misstated and omitted would have been material to a
reasonable person reviewing the Registration Statements and the Prospectuses.
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102. Plaintiff and the Class did not know, and in the exercise of reasonable diligence,
could not have. known of the misstatements and omissions in the Registration Statements and the
Prospectuses.
103. Plaintiff and the Class have sustained damages as a result of the misstatements
and omissions of the Registration Statements and the Prospectuses, for which they are entitled to
compensation.
104. Plaintiff brought this action within one year after the discovery of the untrue
statements and omissions, and within three years after the Offerings.
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.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for relief and judgment, as follows:
(a) Determining that this action is a proper class action under CPLR Article 9;
(b) Awarding compensatory damages in favor of Plaintiff and the other
Class members against all Defendants, jointly and severally, for all damages sustained as a result
of Defendants' wrongdoing, in an amount to be proven at trial, including interest thereon;
(c) Awarding Plaintiff and the Class their reasonable costs and expenses
incurred in this action, including counsel fees and expert fees; and
(d) Such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury.
Dated: July 23, 2008New York, New York
Respectfully submitted,
Byamuel P. Sporn
Joel P. Laitman
Christopher Lometti
Frank R. Schirripa
Daniel B. Rehns
SCHOENGOLD SPORN LAITMAN &LOMETTI, P.C.19 Fulton Street, Suite 406New York, New York 10038Telephone : (212) 964-0046Facsimile : (212) 267-8137
Counselfor Plaintiffandthe Proposed Class
49
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKCOUNTY OF NEW YORK
XNew Jersey Carpenters Health Fund, On Behalfof Itself and All Others Similarly Situated, Index No.
Plaintiff,
v.VERIFICATION
Lehman XS Trust Series 2005-5N, Lehman XSTrust Series 2005-7N, Lehman XS Trust Series2005-9N, Lehman XS Trust Series 2006-2N,Lehman XS Trust Series 2006-16N, StructuredAsset Securities Corporation, Mark L. Zusy,Samir Tabet, James J. Sullivan and LehmanBrothers, Inc,,
Defendants.X
(STATE OF NEW YORK(CITY OF NEW YORK(COUNTY OF NEW YORK
Daniel B. Rehns, being duly sworn, states that he is one of the attorneys for. Plaintiff inthis action and that the foregoing complaint is true to his own knowledge, except as to matterstherein stated on information and belief and as to those matters he believes to be true; that theground of his belief as to all matters not stated upon his knowledge are upon review of publiclyavailable information filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, mediaand newspaper articles and information contained on the internet; and that the reason why the
verification is not made by Plaintiff is that Plaintiff New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund, is riot
in the county where Plaintiff's attorney has their office,
Daniel B. Rehns, Esq.
4-1 JAYP. SALTZMANNDWy , SO1e o[New York
Notary ublic W 02SA-5 AXjOudified iNuc ry
Sworn to me before thiseonmimim 27,2Q.LO
RV- day of 2008
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